Monday, March 12, 2018

A Time Change of Confusion!

Is it the 3-hour time zone difference body clock rebellion?Is it the whiplash of Springing Forward an extra hour yesterday making it a 4 hour time difference of “What time is it anyway?!”Maybe it’s the fact that there were only 3 days to try to settle in before kicking off to Chicago this morning. (And going an hour backwards?)Perhaps it was the changing technology and all that comes with it, but I am trying to find my sense of humor in all that has slowed me down over the past three days, starting with the fact that I discovered yesterday that I had lost…..LOST!!!….my Asilomar pay check. WHAT?! Where? Oh, my goodness, how??I can see it in my mind, I opened the envelope, was going to put the check and the stub in with the other checks in my backpack, thought better of it and……Did I set it down? Did I pitch it with the other trash?I honestly don’t know. But I feel like an idiot. Nothing is as embarrassing as asking someone to issue another check. And this is the second time it has happened since January.Time to slow down perhaps? I hope the powers that be take pity on me, cancel the old one and issue me a new one or I just worked Asilomar for free.

And THEN there were the PHONE issues!

I sent out many pleas for help. It all started with Instagram. From within Instagram I can (Or could, before new phone!) choose to share any post over to either Facebook,Twitter, or Tumblr – or all three by clicking buttons. Only I kept getting either the error shown on the left, or the endless “enter your email and password” loop that would never take.

Google searches didn’t come up with anything, and because the new phone wouldn’t connect to my old pebble watch – I threw up my hands, went to Costco, picked up a Samsung watch to go with my Samsung phone and made a beeline to talk to the guys at the Verizon desk.

After telling them what all I had done to resolve the issue, proving to them I was just not some middle-age computer illiterate woman with a little sewing page (HA!) we came up with a solution that I thought was brilliant.

Upon my return home I used a dummy account on Instagram to see if I could get Twitter and Tumblr to link. No problem there! The difference between the 2 accounts? The real one was a business profile, and the dummy one was not.

I returned my business profile to personal, and I was able to get it to connect to both Twitter and Tumblr. I then reset it from personal back to business and all is well! Perseverance wins the day! And for those who don't get it, don't worry about it - it isn't your life, but I'm glad it is solved as part of what goes on behind the scenes here to make this all happen.(If you don't know what Tumblr is, it's a non-instagram, non-facebook place to share those daily posts that you can read and follow without having to have an account.)

But can you guess what time this all took? When I would have rather have been doing Quilt-Cam? Again, I felt like an idiot and until the issue was solved, I just couldn’t move forward with what I should have been doing.

Too many plates spinning!

It was while packing, and double checking what had been shipped ahead that I realized that I had forgotten to add Essential Triangle Tools to my order for all 3 Illinois guilds. I have 4 classes this coming week, 3 out of the 4 have 50 students each. OY VEY!

I am now carrying a box of 40 rulers in a roll aboard suitcase as well as checking my 2 quilt bags and clothing suitcase at the counter this morning. A priority mail box of more rulers is also being shipped out today for the 3rd leg of my trip.

Oh, TSA is going to love THIS when it goes through the scanner!

Which reminds me, I need to ship some of those ahead to Iowa as well. Can I do it before my 6am airport departure this morning?!

This also was going on at 4am this morning….because I can’t sleep.

I need a new SSL certificate for my website to make it secure, and it was supposed to be active within 4 hours, but alas – it wasn’t. I was on tech support at 4-something to try to get this sorted. AUUGHH!! First world computer problems! Hopefully it will be resolved by the time I land in Chicago.

SOME of this happened!

The editing and re-editing process is in full swing, and this is what the view from my monitor looked like for the rest of what was available yesterday. I made it through 2 of 3 parts, the rest will have to be dealt with while on the road.

There was a little bit of Emmy Lou purring to calm my nerves at the end of a very weird run around day. Click to play:

Now lest you think that this whole post is one big whine – I assure you it isn’t. It’s more of “throw my hands up in the air and laugh” because, well – what ELSE can you do?

And as I’m typing this, my 6am alarm just went off (on the new phone) and I am going to hit upload, head to the shower and get this day of heading out in full swing.

We’ll be back to your quilty content as soon as I reach Illinois! I’m not sure what the plan is for today, but those kitted up blocks that I took to Asilomar are in my suitcase, and Cathy is loaning me her featherweight.

Maybe a bit of stitching, pressing, and fabric fondling will put all that is in a whirl in my world back on track!

Quiltville Quote of the Day!

And what fun would it be if all days were the same, and ran as expected with no surprises?

41 comments:

Best of luck, Bonnie. Days like what you had are sooo... frustrating but as in your own Bonnie way, I'm sure you found the bright spot to enjoy. You will be in my home state this week. Hope our weather welcomes you pleasantly.

I am sending good thoughts your way - that your flights today will be relaxing with no glitches. That you will be able to relax and hexi your way to IL! Thank you for sharing your life with us, the good and the bad. It is an encouragement to me to see your ability to laugh when things are crazy.

The guy from Ed Sullivan with all the plates spinning in the air is my go-to example of my life at times! Sometimes you just got to let them fall and 'reboot'! Hang in there. Sewing time will sooth the frayed edges!!

I feel like I need a nap after all that - ha ha! Hope it all works out and that you can still laugh at the end of the day ;-) And that your accounts link - that is SO frustrating.... and usually the fault of the program - not you ;-)

As a freelance, losing a check is one of my biggest fears. I feel sick and panicky just reading that it has happened to you. I hope they can get you a replacement check quickly! I'm sure your Chicago group will read this and be ready to smother you in hugs the moment you arrive.

Can't speak to the phone/social media problems (though I sympathize in general), but as the finance person for many organizations over the decades, I can share this: they'd rather reissue a check than wonder if the first one will EVER clear the bank. I suspect the person generating the replacement check has had to do this their own selves--you're not the only one with whom Life plays by its own rules.

"Perseverance wins the day!" Oh,so true. Just recovered my laptop from a major blunder due to lack of research on my part. Figured everything out and it's working fine now and thanks to Backblaze I have everything back that I need back. It's just a week of my life that I will never get back.

well I applaud your positive attitude and fortitude, I would have been in tears and feeling overwhelmed. You are a positive force in the world Bonnie :0) Keep spreading your quilty love and take good care of yourself too. Safe travels

check your bank and if there is a mobile app you might be able to take a picture of a check and deposit it that way. I do that with Chase Bank - take pic immediately to deposit check so if it's lost it's already deposited!!!

The windy city will love your little whirlwind. And the most embarrassing thing is to walk down the isle to the front pew at church, and the whole time your dress is tucked into your pantyhose. And that's why I wear pants to church.

Bonnie, Slow down girl! You are going to age yourself way too fast if you keep this schedule up! We all need down time and it doesn't look like you are getting enough. I find that when I go at a crazy pace my memory goes to pot...as well as my body...aches and pains are worse and I am not nearly as effective as I am if I get enough rest.

Just a thought- can you use your phone to deposit your checks? This might save you some stress. I know you have slowed down some, maybe just a bit more. I am looking forward to seeing you in Indianapolis in October. Did not make your classes this time but will get on waiting list.

Oh my gosh! I don't know how you do all that you do!! Just the travel alone would put me in a spin! Just getting home and taking off again. Time changes. And the techy stuff is way over my head. I'm sure they will be happy to issue you another check. Slow down and take a deep breath (or several).

Gosh I can’t remember the last time we got paid with a cheque. All our money gets direct deposited to our account. I include our bank details on our invoice and everyone uses it. Saves time, money and the inconvenience of waiting for funds to clear. Is this something that you could look at doing?Hope things become less crazy soon but loved reading about it all.

When I’ve gotten new phones, there was an option to trade it for a different one if I didn’t like the first one....it just had to be within 30 days. If your phone continues to give you problems, maybe that’s an option...I’m sure you know this, but just in case. I don’t know how you do all you do with your traveling all the time. And to navigate the airports...that made traveling worse for me when I traveled for business. The time changes added to that...ugh!!!! You are a true expert!! Thank you for all the hard work you do on our behalf...☺️☺️

All those time changes would drive me nuts!! We dont have them here is South Africa so it just gets lghter on the East Coast before the West Coast, and then sundown is again earlier. At least one advantage of it is that you get younger but then also older!! :)

BONNIE! You are an amazing woman! In an effort to keep you sane and keep you sharing your amazingness with us all, you should probably hire a personal secretary. I would be willing to leave my position of 33 years to help you out. If not me, my daughter, who is an actual personal assistant and loves to travel..

minions, i tell ya'... we quilters need minions... little beings that follow us around, pick up scraps and checks and generally keep things running smoothly... as soon as mine show up, i'll see you get yours. In the meantime, hugs and blessings and keep on laughing... Love you and all you do for us.Cats from Carlsbad CA